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Cool Welding Helmets

Cool welding helmets do exist. Badass welding helmets are the best welding masks in safety and performance while focusing on style.

This guide will help you find the best welding hood for your style and will review some of the best helmet brands. We’ll cover models such as the pancake welding hood, miller elite welding helmets, pipeliner welding hoods, and optrel welding helmets among others. We’ll also let you know the features to look for in your helmet including the best welding lenses. We’ll also discuss the best rated auto darkening welding helmets, digital welding helmets, and lightweight welding helmets.

Check out our top rated welding hoods to find a cool welding helmet that fits the style you are looking for.

Why is a good welding helmet important?

Cool welding helmets do exist. Badass welding helmets are the best welding masks in safety and performance while focusing on style.

This guide will help you find the best welding hood for your style and will review some of the best helmet brands. We’ll cover models such as the pancake welding hood, miller elite welding helmets, pipeliner welding hoods, and optrel welding helmets among others. We’ll also let you know the features to look for in your helmet including the best welding lenses. We’ll also discuss the best rated auto darkening welding helmets, digital welding helmets, and lightweight welding helmets.

Check out our top rated welding hoods to find a cool welding helmet that fits the style you are looking for.

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How to select the right welding helmet

There are different variables to consider when deciding on a welding helmet that will work for you and the work that you do. Some factors to consider when selecting a good welding helmet for you include auto darkening vs. passive lenses, fixed or variable shade, lens reaction time, and the helmet weight.

Auto Darkening vs Passive Lenses

A welding lens is arguably the most important factor when selecting the best welding helmet for you. There are two types of welding lenses: auto darkening and passive or standard lenses. Shade numbers on welding lenses are the ability of the lens to filter light.

Passive lenses provide a budget friendly option and basic protection while working on your projects. These types of lenses usually have a fixed shade value of #10 and use UV and IR coated the dark-tinted glass. This type of welding helmet is worn up until the welder is ready to begin work and a quick snap of the neck flips the helmet into position before striking an arc.

While passive welding lenses are the most economical choice, there are a few drawbacks when choosing a welding helmet with a passive lens.

•The repetitive task of lifting and lowering while working can be inefficient, especially when tack welding.

•It may not be possible to snap the welding helmet into position while under a car or trailer or in any other small space.

•For a beginner welder, these types of helmets can be difficult to position into place leading to poor welds, low work quality, and weld defects.

An auto-darkening lens solves all of the problems of the standard welding lens. At an inactive state an auto-darkening lens is at a shade of #3 or #4, similar to a sunglass shade. Light sensors mounted near the lens of the welding helmet are activated when an arc is detected, and the lens will darken to a shade of #8 to #13. This darkening happens in a fraction of a second in order to immediately protect your eyes. Because an auto darkening welding helmet allows you to set up the welding joint with the welding hood on before, during, and after the weld making it a much more efficient way to work and allowing for higher quality output.

Fixed vs Variable Shade

If you work with one type of material mostly doing the same type of weld, a fixed shade lens may work perfectly for you. A fixed shade auto-darkening lens will adjust to the same shade each time when an arc is sensed. The fixed shade is usually at #10.

On the other hand, to find the best welding helmet for cutting, grinding, MIG, aluminum MIG, stick, flux cored, or TIG welding processes, you need to begin by looking at variable shades auto-darkening welding helmets. Variable shade auto-darkening welding helmets darken according to the brightness of the arc. Most variable shade welding lenses adjust between #9 and #13.

Lens Reaction Time

How fast the lens switches from its natural state to its darkened shade is the lens reaction time. The more quickly your eyes are protected from light from a weld, the better. It’s important to consider the amount of arcs you’ll be starting in a day when choosing lens reaction times. The more work being done, the greater the chance of eye fatigue.

A top rated auto darkening lens can change as quickly as 1/20,000 of a second a greatly reduce the amount of stress on your eyes. However, a lens that’s considered more entry-level can be rated at 1/3,600 of a second and could be sufficient enough when starting fewer arcs in a day.

Other Lens Factors

Sensors: You’ll find that welding helmets have between two and four sensors. Helmets with two sensors tend to be best for entry level welders and four sensors would be needed for industrial, professional jobs.

Sensitivity and delay controls: Sensitivity controls allow you to set adjust the level of brightness that will trigger the lens to darken. Delay controls allow you to set how long the lens will stay dark after an arc stops.

Size of lens: Consider how much welding you’ll be doing from a flat position versus out-of-position welding. A larger lens can be better for out-of-position welding. Typical lens sizes range from 6 to 9 square inches.

Battery vs Solar Power

Welding helmets can come with batteries, solar power or both. Many welding helmets come with internal, non-replaceable battery which is usually assisted by a solar panel. This type of helmet will require charging in direct sunlight before it’s first use or if it’s been stored for a period of time. Thebattery is needed to power the hood and start the arc, and the solar power extends the battery life by taking over. One disadvantage to this type of hood is that when the battery dies the helmet is rendered useless. Also, without an Auto On/Off, it’s possible to drain more quickly if it’s accidentally left on after a job is completed. A better option may be to purchase a hood with replaceable batteries that uses either AAA or lithium batteries in addition to the solar panel. This enables you to start welding right away and could prolong the life of your welding helmet because the batteries can be replaced.

Other Factors to Consider

The weight of the helmet is an important factor to consider when deciding on the best welding to suit you. The lighter the helmet, the more comfortable the helmet will be and the less strain on your neck.

You’ll also find yourself better off if you purchase a welding helmet that meets national safety standards. A welding that meets nationals safety standards has been required to pass rigorous testing, meet certain performance criteria, and validate their advertised specifications including darkness shade settings, lens reaction times among others through independent testing.

Now that you’re armed with the knowledge of how to pick the best welding helmet for you and the type of welding you’ll be doing, it’s time to focus on style. Check out the cool welding helmets below that we compare below to find an awesome hood that fits your needs and personality. We’ve made shopping for a cool welding helmet a lot easier by finding the best welding helmets on the market today. Check out our welding helmet reviews to find a cool welding helmet that fits your style and needs.

Cool Welding Helmet Reviews

The Original Pancake Welding Hood

The basic design of The Original Pancake Welding Hood definitely makes a statement in simplicity. This lightweight welding helmet is handcrafted from balsa, phenolic, and pine woods and has a contoured balsa box ready for custom fitting. The folded ear guard design and faceplate is pressure formed from one piece of phenolic. They have easy side or bottom loading closures and are approved by national safety standards and OSHA. It has a straight- sided balsa box and 1-inch lens box to accommodate an Electronic Quick Change lens, which is not included. The design is available for either right-handed or left-handed welders. The company is family owned and operated and has been manufacturing top quality welding hoods for the past thirty years.

Click here to read our full review.

Miller Digital Elite Welding Helmet

The Miller Digital Elite Welding Helmet comes with improved digital controls that have an intuitive design and large push buttons to allow the user to easily adjust mode and settings. It’s redesigned headgear features additional settings and a better fit for more comfort and support. The helmet has four arc sensors and four operating modes including weld, cut, grind and x-mode. While in x-mode the helmet electromagnetically senses the weld to eliminate sunlight interference and continuously detect the arc even if the sensors are blocked. The lens will automatically turn on with the strike of an arc. It’s aluminum heat shield and shock absorbing gasket protects the lens in high amperage applications and from drop impact. The Miller Digital Elite Welding Helmet comes in a variety of cool finishes including black, inferno, stars and stripes, cat, vintage roadster, lucky’s speed shot, camouflage, and pretty pink camouflage.

Optrel vegaview2.5 Welding Helmet

Optrel’s vegaview2.5 offers the clearest view possible in it’s light state, shade #2.5 (a world record) compared to a regular industry standard of #4. This can improve the welder’s visibility by 400%. You can manually adjust their shade level from 8 to 12 without removing their helmet, and the ADF lenses are specially coated to optimize the view of colors.This helmet also features both sensitivity and delay controls, a sensor slide and is optimized for overhead welding. The opening delay function allows welders to adjust the time it takes to switch the lens from dark to light, making the transition easier on the eyes. Weighing only 17 oz, the vegaview2.5 is one of the lightest and best auto darkening welding helmet available. The comfort provided by it’s ergonomic design reduces the amount of strain on your head and neck. The vegaview2.5 also features the optrel e3000 PAPR respiratory system. With its integrated high-performance particle filter (TH3), welders are protected against smoke, aerosols, and dust. The cool sleek design of the helmet comes in matte black.

Honeywell Pipeliner Welding Hood

The Honeywell Pipeliner Welding Hood is compact, straight forward and the industry standard and designed for the specific needs for pipe welders. This welding helmet is made from SuperGlas Plus, a material formulated to be lightweight and strong. The design allows for welders to access spaces where a standard helmet may be too large filling a need for a helmet that is safe and productive under harsh welding conditions. The Pipeliner Welding Hood is comfortable and functional and uses a constant-fit rubber headband for easy readjustments as pipe welders move about their work. Made in the U.S.A.

Antra AH6-660 Series Welding Helmet

The Antra AH6-660 Series welding helmet is smart chip controlled four sensor auto darkening lens, and is quick to react to an arc. This helmet features a 3.86×2.5 inch window and provides a large viewing area. This versatile lightweight welding helmet weighs in at just 16.8 oz. It features a fully automatic power on/off, UV/IR protection, sensitivity and delay adjustment knob, battery indicator and testing, and power off delay. This inexpensive auto darkening welding helmet could be the one if you’re looking for a cheap option to buy.

Antra AH7-X90 Series Welding Helmet

The Antra AH7-X90 Series welding helmet has a digital controlled four sensor auto darkening lens with TOP Optical Class 1/1/1/1 (the less # the better). The lens is extremely responsive to electric arc from TIG, MIG, MMA, or Plasma applications and has a large viewing area of 3.86×3.23 inches. The Antra AH7-X90 features a manual power ON, auto OFF, a digital controlled sensitivity and delay setting with LCD display, UV/IR protection, and a power off delay of 30 minutes. It has an easy and accurate shade setting with digital control. The paint pattern is subtle and makes this a unique a cool welding helmet to own.

Arcone Python Fighting Tiger 5000V 1171

The Arcone Python Fighting Tiger welding helmet encompasses performance, comfort, and style. Modeled after a European Formula 1 racing helmet, this welding helmet is lightweight and provides full coverage for your head, neck, and ears. The 5000V-1171 model is a moderately priced welding helmet with high performance boasting a light state of 4 and dark state of 9-13. The large viewing area of 7.25 inches allows for accuracy while on the job. Arcone Python Auto Darkening filters are ANSI, CSA and CE approved.

Save Phace Gen Y Series Welding Helmet

The Save Phace Gen Y Series welding helmet offers great features and super cool designs. This one is the first welding that has an auto darkening filter (shades4/9-13) with grind mode and integrated into 180 degree lens offering ear to ear vision. It has a 23 square inch viewing area and weighs under 24 ounces. The helmets in this series meet all safety standards. This badass welding helmet could be an excellent option for you really want to stand out from the crowd. It comes in three designs: Marvel Comics Venom, Gate Keeper, and Murda Out.